I coppied this from another forum, you may find it useful.
Firstly a MASSIVE thank you to all who helped me with the odd (very odd at times) question regarding our first time abroad with the van. Thank you all.
If you are still wondering if its worth it, or what its like read on. If your considering taking the plunge and towing abroad, read on.
If you've been there done that, naff off and read another thread.......lol.
Ok, a bit about me to help understand my fears.
I went with family of wifey, and 2 boys just knocking teenage years. Shogun Sport pulling 26 foot ish of twin axle van. So with family on board and the size of rig, i had plenty to worry about. And worry i did.
Heres a few FAQ and answers.
First off equipment needed. Simple enough lists on here, Aa website or from CC website. So equipment is easy enough, now for some tougher ones.
We chose Eurotunnel mainly because i dont like boats much, i prefer to drive and view the scenery. As it was only my second time abroad (Menorca last year on plane), i wanted to see as much as possible.
So tunnel was booked and journey planned. We went to a CL on the Thursday in Loughborough and stayed overnight, to break the journey up. Friday morning up and off to tunnel.
Easy enough, all signed from motorway. A simple lane system is self explanatory to guide you to the booths to check in. They give you a card with a letter on it indicating your train, e.g "K" is the 09.20. If your early you park in the large parking area till the tannoy system calls for you to be proceed to loading. You then follow the lane from the car park through a passport checkpoint and onto your lane for loading. You wont get it wrong, unless you mistake your caravan for a motorcycle........anyway, a quick stop in a checking bay to make sure gas bottle is not connected and you rejoin your lane. As the traffic through all checks is staggered it doesnt get busy or cause problems so you wont have any problems. You are told at the check point what lane number you are, its written in massive numbers on the floor, just follow them. Loads of room to travel in your lane so no worries.
You will then go down a ramp which brings you onto the platform to load onto the train.
Now this is where i was at panic stations defcon 1. Ive got 12 foot of 4x4 with a crap turning circle, followed by 1900 kgs of 26 foot long twin axle van. If i get this wrong 3 things will happen:
1. I will incur the wrath of the people trying to load us;
2. I will look a right pratt;
3. I will incur the wrath of wifey, which to be frank is akin to suicide by slow roasting.
Then i realised i was loading to my left, which is the most awkward side to load onto.
But, as soon as i saw the loading opening, plus others getting on i realised its really no problem at all. It was an absolute breeze. But dont take my word for it, heres a simple test you can try. Those big coaches, twin wheeled twin deck monsters, they get on. And as i was waiting to load i watched one straighten up BEFORE it actually entered the carriage. So take that distance, say 40 foot, add another 12 and you got a rough idea. Mark it out on a road somewhere quiet one Sunday, then see how easy it is to get your car into that distance and straighten up. You probably do less than that all year long but just dont realise it because its not an issue to you. I got on, i was panicking before hand and i had no reason, its absolutely simple. Also you have both sides of the deck to use, so drive right over to the other side if needed and swing in. But if your reading this, there isnt MANY outfits longer than mine to be honest. So if i found it easy, so will you.
Once on the tunnel you can get out of the car, wander up and down the carriages from one to another, and use the onboard toilets on the train. It was quick, fairly smooth and boring if im honest, but in a good way.
Now we get to France. Tolls roads, being gassed, over zealous gendarmes, driving on the right, bad uncourteous drivers etc etc.
Sorry, it was an absolute revelation.
Seriously, do not under any circumstances think driving on the right is difficult. It isnt, its simple. We came off the tunnel straight onto the A16 m-way/toll road and just settled into the right hand lane for the next 60 miles or so. Simple, easy. Heres a few other things to note. The French toll roads were as simple to navigate and a pleasure to drive as many people have said. Yet again i even must say boring if it wasnt for the scenery. Like me i supposed the systems were the same as UK, wrong. They use a far simpler system of signs. You just head for the main town which is where you will pick up your destination. So from the A road the towns are signed. We were heading for St Hiliare-St Florent, just outside of Saumur. So we followed signs to Saumur. Once off the A road St H was signed. So on the A road you only see signs for towns, not lots of useless stuff telling you nothing of note. The raods were clear of traffic and CLUTTER. no silly signs, pointless fluorescent items unless needed and not once in 1800 miles and 2 weeks did i see ANY road works or cones except for 1 stretch in the town of Angers. But nothing at all on the m-ways. We toodled along at 55-60 mph all the way, had not a single problem with navigation or direction, and found the whole experience brilliant. All the roads are clear and simple, and actually enjoyable to drive.
Aires.
We stayed at Baie De Somme, just outside of Abbeville straight off the A16. Its a free area to park, get fuel, even have a shower free or a coffee at the cafe. Please DO NOT make the mistake of thinking this was anything like our motorway services, it isnt. Its better than most sites ive stayed on, with beautiful kept grassed areas, clean, a duck pond, kids play area etc etc etc. It was safe, clean and a pleasure to stay overnight here. Aires come in different guises, some have all facilities, some very basic. But all are clean that we encountered and really put UK services to shame. So plan your journey to include some nice ones and you wont be disappointed. Also all are signed perfectly with plenty of room.
France is a thorough joy to visit, navigate round and we enjoyed every single minute from start to finish. Driving was easy, even for a worry head like me. Believe me its far far simpler to drive through France for the first time than it is through the UK. Its cleaner, spotless in fact where we were, and the site we stayed on was magnificent with pools, shop, bakery etc etc etc. The pitch we had was capable of putting our van on sideways with plenty of room in all directions.
Everywhere is signed with prices simple enough so you know what you pay for. Every person we met tried to go a little bit more than we asked to help or please us, the service we had everywhere was superb. This may or may not be true all over but it was for us. Nothing was too much trouble for anyone.
Eating out was cheaper than UK, not by a great deal but the food was far superior for the money.
Weather wise we had some excellent days and a few iffy ones. No problems with little beasties, due to the fact they were huge. But we only saw 2 in 2 weeks. Dragonflies with tattoos.
There was no traffic problems, no parking problems, no police on every corner. At 10.30 one evening we were walking through the centre of town into a square of restaurants and there were families eating outside all of them, not a single bit of noise, no lager louts or yobs, just families enjoying life.
It was perfect.
Lots of people said it was like this. I didnt believe them. I was wrong and i apologise.
If you havent done France please give it a go. The only problems we encountered were after getting back to UK. Traffice chaos, coned off lanes with no road works at all, inconsiderate drivers and pee smelling useless no facility services, namely Stafford. Typical.
France is a revelation to me. And it wont be our last visit.
Try it, you wil be pleasantly surprised like i was.
But after all was it worth it? The cost, the travelling, the preperation?
Too damn right it was. For the first time in a good few years it was a HOLIDAY.
Vive Le France
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